Bunraku

Originally, the term "Bunraku" referred only to the particular theater established in 1872 in Osaka, which was named the Bunraku-za after its founder, a puppeteer named Uemura Bunrakken (or Bunrakuken), whose efforts revived the flagging fortunes of the traditional puppet theater in the mid-19th century.

The later prominence of the National Bunraku Theater of Japan, which is a descendant of the theater founded by Bunrakken, has popularized the name "Bunraku" in the twentieth century to the point that many Japanese use the term to refer generically to any traditional puppet theater in Japan.